Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.

New York City was called “Fun City” in 1966 by Mayor John Lindsay—on one of his first days on the job. The nickname was used derisively and “the Big Apple” replaced “Fun City” in the 1970s. Occasionally, people would call New York City “No Fun City.”

The city of Vancouver, Canada, has been called “No Fun City” since at least 2001. Some people believe that Vancouver is beautiful, but dull, and that nothing “fun” ever happens there.

Wikipedia: VancouverVancouver (pronounced /vænˈkuːvɚ/) is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded by the Strait of Georgia, the Fraser River, the Coast Mountains, and Burnaby. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer.

The population of the city of Vancouver is 611,869 and the population of Metro Vancouver is 2,249,725 (2007 estimate). Vancouver is also part of the slightly larger Lower Mainland metropolitan area which compromises a total population of 2,524,113. This makes it the largest metropolitan area in Western Canada and the third largest in the country. Vancouver is ethnically diverse, with 52% of city residents and 43% of Metro residents having a first language other than English. Population density is fourth highest for a major city on the continent after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City.

Vancouver was first settled in the 1860s as a result of immigration caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, particularly from the United States, although many immigrants did not remain after the rush. The city developed rapidly from a small lumber mill town into a metropolitan centre following the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1887. The Port of Vancouver became internationally significant after the completion of the Panama Canal, which reduced freight rates in the 1920s and made it viable to ship export-bound prairie grain west through Vancouver. It has since become the busiest seaport in Canada, and exports more cargo than any other port in North America.

The economy of Vancouver has traditionally relied on British Columbia’s resource sectors: forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture. It has diversified over time, however, and Vancouver today has a vibrant service industry, a growing tourism industry, and it has become the third-largest film production centre in North America after Los Angeles and New York City, earning it the nickname Hollywood North. Vancouver has had an expansion in high-tech industries, most notably video game development.

Vancouver is consistently ranked one of the three most livable cities in the world. According to a 2007 report by Mercer Human Resource Consulting for example, Vancouver tied with Vienna as having the third highest quality of living in the world, after Zürich and Geneva. In 2007, according to Forbes, Vancouver had the 6th most overpriced real estate market in the world and second in North America after Los Angeles. In 2007, Vancouver was ranked Canada’s second most expensive city to live after Toronto and the 89th most expensive globally, and, in 2006, the 56th most expensive city in which to live among 143 major cities in the world. In 2007, Vancouver was ranked as the 10th cleanest city in the world. A resident of Vancouver is called a Vancouverite.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver and nearby Whistler.

18 September 1967, New York (NY) Times, letters, pg. 46:
No Fun City for Poor

11 January 1976, New York (NY) Times, pg. E6:
Cuts Are Turning It Into No-Fun City
by Francis X. Clines

Don’t believe me? Ask any young European travellers with money in their pocket. If you’re looking for an exciting vacation, they’ll tell you to skip Vancouver and head to Seattle. Or Squamish. Even Kamloops. Hell, anywhere but here.

We’re still a pretty city. Pretty damn bored.
(...)
Vancouver needs a renegade of fun, a voice of treason, if you will. Someone who will show City Hall and the Board of Trade how to transform No Fun City into ...

4 November 2001, New York (NY) Times, “No-Fun City” by James Traub, pg. SM136:
Historic budget deficits, drastic cuts in services and spending, cops and teachers poised to flee and everything associated with Sept. 11—that’s what the next mayor inherits.

pointless ramblings
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Vancouver: A No Fun City?
I constantly hear that Vancouver is a no fun city. This is usually followed by a story about how there are no major New Years celebrations and any big parties of any kind. I’m not sure how having 200,000 - 500,000 people 4 time a summer for fireworks doesn’t qualify, but that is often forgotten.

See Joe Run. See Joe Swim
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Maybe Vancouver Really is a No Fun City
In case you haven’t heard, last night my Vancouver Canucks beat the Dallas Stars again and now have a 3-games-to-1 lead in their playoff series. Naturally, having been a loyal Canuck fan since the age of five, I’m super pumped about this!

Vancouver the “No Fun City”. I disagree. I lived in Vancouver for 28 years. There was always plenty of fun and interesting things to do. I live in Kamloops now. I love it here! Kirsten

Posted by Kamloops Real Estate Blog on 02/18 at 08:18 PM

vancouver=anti-business culture.taxes gst,pst
too high.too many rules,too puritanical.
van. is a dead city.everyone goes home at 5 pm,eat,shit & sleeps.
wake up,go to work,go home,...
nothing to do here.no where to go.
maybe expect to hike,bike,walk=boring

Posted by no fun city on 11/05 at 05:16 PM

Vancouver is a no-fun city, no question. The city is committed to shutting down live music - venues disappear to be replaced with discotecques that pump loud canned music for the ‘entertainment moguls’ to feed twenty-somethings alcohol. I am a jazz musician and fan of live music, and it is dying here, bit by bit, every day. The city will come down on you like a ton of bricks if you try to put more than 3 musicians on a stage in a restaurant. They consider live music a public menace. Sad, considering it’s history. I’m strongly considering moving to the UK. It’s more expensive there, but at least they like music in Europe.

Posted by Charles Burnham on 04/18 at 04:53 PM

Now that the 2010 vancouver winter olympics is over,
Vancouver has returned to it’s
boring & puritanical lifestyles.The tourists have left & it looks like they are not coming back.
You may see some vendors on the corner of Robson & Hornby Street still selling overproduced/left-over olympic pins that have collected dust.I guess they forgotten the winter games ended months ago.
I heard that some vendors were forced out.Does not surpise me at all.It’s puritanical vancouver.

Posted by NFC on 05/20 at 11:49 PM

My name is Terry Mulford and I am responsible for the naming of Vancouver as “No Fun City”. Actually, it came from my cribbing of a writing by Hunter S. Thompson titled “Welcome to the 80’s - the Decade that Fun Forgot”. In my correspondence I began referring to Vancouver as “The Town that Fun Forgot”. This was back in 1995 or 1996. By 1997 it had morphed into Vancouver as “No Fun City”. I still prefer “The Town that Fun Forget” as it rolls off of the tongue a bit better. So that’s it. It started here with me via HST.

Posted by Tery Mulford on 05/25 at 07:43 PM

They should rename the city
“Funcouver” really it is one of the best cities in the world if you are looking for great food and entertainment. I live in Kamloops and we have got a lot to do to come close to Vancouver. I love Kamloops and its dry weather!